Celebrating a Failed Revolution Can Get Crowded on Guy Fawkes Night

About 60,000 people attended last year's celebration in Lewes, above.
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By

Jenny Gross

Updated Nov. 5, 2012 12:46 p.m. ET

LEWES, England—Earlier this week, about 130 members of the Southover Bonfire Society gathered at the Kings Head Pub here to put the finishing touches on what they hope will be an explosive event Monday: the most elaborate Guy Fawkes Night bonfire and fireworks show in England.

They are also hoping that as few people as possible will be there to see it.

Guy Fawkes Night, sometimes called Bonfire Night, is the most incendiary holiday on the British calendar. Cities and towns all over England have bonfire parties and set off fireworks to celebrate the story of Guy Fawkes, who tried and failed to blow up Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605.

The annual Guy Fawkes Day celebration in the town of Lewes is known for its pyrotechnical excess and draws some 60,000 people a year. Some local officials think it's gotten too big for this small village. WSJ's Jenny Gross reports.

Lewes, a town of more than 16,000 about 50 miles south of London, throws a huge event in which six local bonfire societies, each with its own costumes and rituals, stage separate parades through town culminating in huge bonfires and fireworks shows. The Southover revelers—some wearing red and black sweaters and kerchiefs around their necks to meetings—have spent months designing costumes, building torches and raising money.

But the Lewes bonfire has become just too popular. Last year, about 60,000 people flooded the narrow, cobblestone streets to watch the procession. As in many places around the country, Guy Fawkes Night can get out of hand and take on an air of real menace.

Ashley Leaney, a recently retired police officer who has policed two bonfires, described the night as chaos. "Anywhere else in the country, police would arrest individuals (let alone participants) for throwing fireworks in the street, but not at Lewes," Mr. Leaney wrote in an email. During one of the parade rituals, "fireworks are actually thrown into the crowd, but the attitude is that it's their event and 'outsiders' attend at their own risk."

This year Lewes is trying to take control of the event by disguising it as the most miserable, insufferable way to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night imaginable.

ENLARGE

Guy Fawkes mask

Stephen English, chairman of the Southover society, says the town is actively trying to keep people away. Bonfire societies are lobbying railways not to add additional services to the area, he says. Town officials are refusing to speak to the local press so as to minimize publicity.

"One of the best things we could have would be a night of rain and freezing cold and for it to be as inhospitable as possible," says Richard Clark, who is a so-called smuggler for his society, in charge of lighting fireworks and making as much noise as he can. "The less people in town the better," he says.

Only designated members of the societies are authorized to set off fireworks, but visitors sometimes bring their own. Many bring earplugs and goggles to the Lewes fest to protect themselves.

When the evening parade kicks off, thousands of people descend on the town. The societies march along designated routes through narrow streets and across bridges. Theythrow burning barrels of tar into the River Ouse, play military songs and chant "Remember, remember the fifth of November."

Lewes had its first Nov. 5 parade in the 17th century, when Parliament established the day as a national holiday to celebrate King James I's survival of a plot to kill him. In 1605, Guy Fawkes and his Roman Catholic conspirators plotted to blow up the king and his supporters in Parliament, who refused to grant religious tolerance to Catholics. The evening before the attack, Guy Fawkes was taken into custody in the cellar where his explosives were held, and the attempt was foiled. He was executed for the crime.

Marchers in Lewes also hold burning crosses to commemorate the 17 Protestant martyrs who were burned to death on the town's High Street during the reign of Mary Tudor in the 1550s.

They parade around town with effigies up to 30 feet tall, of politicians and others on the societies' enemies list. They have included Osama bin Laden and the Manchester City soccer player Mario Balotelli. Some figures, including Guy Fawkes and the 17th century's Pope Paul V, appear every year. Later in the night, the effigies are packed with kerosene and exploded.

Some bonfire participants dress up as Zulu warriors, with headdresses and beading, others as Native Americans. Spectators dance in the streets to the sounds of drums and trumpets.

Last year, several people injured by fireworks went to the hospital.

Garry Collins, commander of the community fire station for the borough of Lewes, says the fire department meets with bonfire societies every two months to discuss ways to promote safety.

On Nov. 5 itself, local businesses board up their shops and seal their mailboxes. Residents are told not to leave trash bags, or anything that can easily catch fire, outside. Police and firefighters deploy extra resources to keep the crowds in order and buckets of water are placed around town for the disposal of fireworks.

The Lewes Bonfire Council, a voice for the various societies, is also doing what it can to douse enthusiasm for this year's event. Its website warns that the night can be dangerous and emphasizes the prospect of big crowds and long lines for trains to Lewes.

"The journey home could be even more horrendous," says a note on the website. "This can be an unpleasant experience, particularly when it is cold or raining—which is likely in November."

This year, because Guy Fawkes Night falls on a Monday, Lewesians are hoping fewer people will brave the November weather for the party.

"We don't want to send the message that this is something to do before you die—even though it is," Mr. English says. "We don't want the world to know about it. Only Lewes."

Corrections & Amplifications Guy Fawkes tried, and failed, in 1605 to blow up the English Parliament. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he tried to blow up the British Parliament, which wasn't formally created until 1707.

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